Appeal raises £5k for music promoter Driscoll’s funeral

MORE than £5,000 was raised in three days following an appeal to give a Kentish Town music promoter a “big fat funeral”

A cult personality, Jon “Fat Beast” Driscoll, who ran the iconic 80s indie venue the Timebox club at the Bull and Gate pub in Kentish Town, died on Sunday July 27 aged 51.

He was well-known for being the warm-up act for 90s indie-poppers Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine, during which he would strip to his pants while the crowd shouted “You fat b***d” at him before he shouted insults back at them.

A fundraising page to give him a proper send-off was set up on the website GoFundMe by Carter USM’s vocalist Jim Bob Morrison. The aim was to raise £5,000 to help the late promoter’s family with funeral costs, but has raised over that amount.

Mr Morrison told the Camden New Journal that “to say he was an attention seeker would be an understatement. He had a huge ego, but that was all part of being a colourful character. Again, that’s an understatement.”

Mr Driscoll had been suffering from septicemia and pancreatitis, and did not recover from a routine operation. His funeral will take place in Blackpool, where he spent the majority of his life.

Mr Morrison added: “He didn’t make any plans. I bet he would have loved to be fired up in a rocket, or turned into vodka, or something mad like that. But he didn’t tell us what he wanted because I don’t think he was expecting to go so young. We want a big fat funeral, but it will all be up to his brother.”